Siliguri: At least 1,800 tourists remain stranded in north Sikkim after roads were damaged following landslides in the region on Thursday Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) along with locals residents and police are working to restore the road connectivity (PTI) The official added that around 560 tourists are stuck in Lachen and another 1,200 in Lachung two high-altitude hill stations in north Sikkim “The road between Lachung and Chungthang is expected to be opened by Saturday evening But the road between Lachen and Chungthang will take some time to be opened Tourists stranded even in Lachen would be taken out making detour via Lachung,” Mangan’s superintendent of police Sonam Detchu Bhutia said around 1,800 tourists are currently expected to be in Lachen and Lachung Telephone lines and electricity are still working adding that tourists have been asked to stay in hotels until they are rescued “All hotels at Lachen are providing free lodging and food to the stranded tourists in their respective hotels where they were already staying,” president of Lachen Hotel Owners’ Association Rinam Lachenpa told HT “If required we will help the stranded tourists to move out on foot In that case they need to walk at some places where the road is blocked In between they will travel in vehicles,” Lachenpa added According to an official communication received on Thursday night significant landslides have occurred at Munshithang on the Lachen–Chungthang road and at Lema/Bob on the Lachung–Chungthang stretch The district administration has directed tour operators not to send tourists to north Sikkim under any circumstances till the situation improves.Officials said that all travel permits for north Sikkim for Friday have been cancelled including those already issued in advance due to the road condition Tourists who could not reach to Lachen and Lachung due to landslides on Thursday were rescued on Friday morning and given shelters and food at different locations in Chungthang Around 57 tourists stranded on the way were given shelters in local villages on Thursday night Lachen was among the places in Sikkim that were worst hit due to the October 2023 Glacial Lake Outburst Flood It was disconnected for almost one and half years It opened up to tourists this year from March Lachen Hospital is gearing its image towards the future and adapting it to the dynamic and digital world Dachcom developed the new overall branding for this Lachen Hospital stands for first-class medicine a proven team culture and a close connection with the region The new overall image is intended to give these values even more meaning and visibility Dachcom initially turned its attention inwards to the hospital The newly developed figurative mark symbolizes the employees who shape and advance the hospital with their professional expertise Medical and human strengths merge into a concise symbol that is intended to create trust The closeness and humanity of the hospital is also expressed in the new core message "Laughter makes you healthy" Lachen Hospital aims to strengthen its internal identification and external differentiation The new branding is used in all applications and communication measures and also characterizes the new website which is currently being designed by Dachcom Responsible at Spital Lachen: Martin Kaspar (Head of Communications and Marketing). Responsible at Dachcom: Team Winterthur. Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Volume 11 - 2019 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2019.00141 The olfactory bulb (OB) is the first processing station in the olfactory pathway which is considered an early event in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) little is known about the initial molecular disturbances that accompany the AD development at olfactory level We have interrogated the time-dependent OB molecular landscape in Tg2576 AD mice prior to the appearance of neuropathological amyloid plaques (2- The metabolic modulation induced by overproduction of human mutated amyloid precursor protein (APP) clearly differs between both time points Besides the progressive perturbation of the APP interactome functional network analysis unveiled an inverse regulation of downstream extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) routes in 2-month-old Tg2576 mice with respect to wild-type (WT) mice Akt and MAPK kinase 4 (SEK1)/ stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK) axis were parallel activated in the OB of 6-months-old-Tg2576 mice a survival kinome profiling performed during the aging process (2- and 18-month-old) revealed that olfactory APP overexpression leads to changes in the activation dynamics of protein kinase A (PKA) and SEK1/MKK4-SAPK/JNK between 6 and 18 months of age when memory deficits appear and AD pathology is well established in transgenic mice both olfactory pathways were differentially activated in a stage-dependent manner in human sporadic AD subjects with different neuropathological grading our data reflect the early impact of mutated APP on the OB molecular homeostasis highlighting the progressive modulation of specific signaling pathways during the olfactory amyloidogenic pathology Several studies using human AD brains and AD mouse models have demonstrated that the deposition of amyloid plaques is accompanied by an alteration in the OB’s molecular homeostasis (Zelaya et al., 2015; Lachén-Montes et al., 2016, 2017; Palomino-Alonso et al., 2017) it is still unclear how the progressive amyloidogenic pathology affects the OB functionality in the absence of plaques we have used two high-throughput technological platforms combining transcriptomic and proteomic approaches to ascertain the magnitude and chronology of the OB molecular remodeling in Tg2576 mice at two stages of AD: long before (2 months of age) and immediately before (6 months of age) the appearance of Aβ plaques with respect to age-matched background strain wild-type (WT) mice Our workflow has revealed stage-dependent molecular pathways and kinase activation dynamics that are disturbed during the initial phase of the amyloid pathology providing basic information for understanding how olfactory molecular networks evolve as the AD pathology progresses at early stages General characteristics of the subjects included in this study The following reagents and materials were used. Electrophoresis reagents were purchased from Bio-rad and Trypsin from Promega. Antibodies used during the study are summarized in Table 2 We have previously observed that behavior (Morris Water Maze test MWM) is completely normal and amyloid levels are equal to wild type at 2 months of age mice show impaired cognitive functions in the contextual fear conditioning test coinciding with the increased cortical and hippocampal soluble β amyloid (Aβ) levels the impairment in MWM is present in most of the mice but few are normal and with less plaques (but they are present); and finally the pathology is robust and 100% of mice shows plaques and MWM impairment Number of animals used in each experimental approach Murine OB specimens were homogenized in lysis buffer containing 7 M urea The homogenates were spinned down at 100,000 × g for 1 h at 15°C Protein concentration was measured in the supernatants with the Bradford assay kit (Bio-Rad) we worked with a p-value < 0.01 (without using any method for multiple testing correction) Microarray data files were submitted to the GEO (Gene Expression Omnibus) database and are available under accession number GSE106643 The identification of specifically dysregulated regulatory/metabolic networks in Tg2576, OBs was analyzed using QIAGEN’s Ingenuity® Pathway Analysis (IPA; QIAGEN Redwood City2) The software generates significance values (p-values) between each biological or molecular event and the imported molecules based on the Fisher’s exact test (p ≤ 0.05) The IPA comparison analysis considers the signaling pathway rank according to the calculated p-value and reports it hierarchically After densitometric analyses (Image Lab Software Version 5.2; Bio-Rad) optical density values were expressed as arbitrary units and normalized to total stain in each gel lane animals were perfused transcardially with saline for 3 min at a 11 ml/min flow and 4% paraformaldehyde in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) for 2 min at a 9 ml/min flow post-fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde for 1 h at room temperature and cryoprotected in 30% sucrose solution in PBS overnight at 4°C Brains were sliced into 40-μm-thick coronal sections along the rostral axis with a freezing microtome (Leica Germany) and collected in 0.125 M PBS containing 2% dimethylsulphoxide (Sigma) 20% glycerin (Panreac) and 0.05% sodium azide and stored at −20°C until their subsequent analysis comprising the OB of four animals per age group (2- The sections were washed (3 × 10 min) with a solution buffer containing PBS 0.125 M (pH 7.4) sections were treated with methanol and H2O2 to inhibit endogenous peroxidase activity and incubated in 70% formic acid for 5 min to expose the epitope the sections were incubated overnight with a primary mouse antibody (6E10) raised against human Aβ (amino acids 1–16; BioLegend USA) diluted 1:1,000 in PBS 0.125 M (pH 7.4) sections were incubated for 30 min with biotinylated goat anti-mouse secondary antibody (DakoCytomation The sections were then processed using the avidin–biotin-peroxidase complex (Vectastain kit USA) and reacted with 0.05% 3,3′-diaminobenzidine tetrahydrochloride (DAB) and 0.015% H2O2 in 50 mM Tris HCl sections were mounted on gelatinized slides counterstained with Thionine at 60°C (Panreac Quimica paraffin-embedded tissue sections from OB (derived from controls and AD cases) were sectioned at 5 μm and counterstained with hemeatoxylin for immnuhistochemistry analysis with anti-SEK1 (ref Visualization was performed by an automated slide immunostainer (Leica Bond Max) with BondPolymer Refine Detection (Leica Biosystems Newcastle Ltd. RGSL1) and five were co-upregulated (STMN4 Olfactory β-Amyloid Aβpathology increases with the disease progression in TG2576 mice Olfactory bulbs (OBs) were harvested from 2-(A–C) 6-(D–F) and 14-(G–J) month-old Tg2576 mice Intraneuronal Aβ immunoreactivity can be observed in 2-month-old mice (arrow heads; panel B and more detailed in panel C) OB samples from 6-month-old animals (panels D–F) shows moderate Aβ deposition in form of diffuse plaques (asterisk) mature plaques (asterisk in panels G,H and insert J) and vascular Aβ (insert I) is evident in 14-month-old Tg2576 Scale bars (500 μm for panels A,D,G 100 μm for panels B,E,H) or 10 μm (C,F,I,J) Figure 3. Profiling of molecular biofunctions potentially altered in the OB of Tg2576 mice. Functional analysis was performed with IPA software using exclusively the database information of experimental and predictive origin regarding central nervous system to be confident about the potential affected signaling pathways (see Supplementary Table S3 for details) These data indicate that Phb complex is an early target of human mutated APP suggesting that the stable maintenance of Phb levels may help to counteract the oxidative stress present in olfactory neurons during AD progression in Tg2576 mice and mitochondrial homeostasis are early compromised in Tg2576 at olfactory level (A) Molecular network representing the up-regulation of ribosomal proteins (blue circles) in the OB of 2-month-old Tg2576 (B) Molecular network highlighting the dysregulation of specific components of the mitochondrial respiratory chain (Complex I and Complex VI subunits) in the OB of 2-month-old Tg2576 (C) Time-dependent disruption of the olfactory Phb1 in Tg2576 mice Phb expression was monitored by Western-blotting (D) Time-dependent disruption of the olfactory Phb2 in Tg2576 mice Equal loading of the gels was assessed by stain-free digitalization Data are presented as mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM) from three independent OB samples per group (*P < 0.05 vs Right graphs represent the expression of both Phb subunits during the aging process in WT and Tg2576 mice (2- APP overproduction affects the activation state of olfactory ERK1/2 and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) at early AD stages in Tg2576 mice Levels and residue-specific phosphorylation of MEK1/2 (A) Data are presented as mean ± SEM from three independent OB samples per group APP overproduction specifically modulates the activation of the SEK1/MKK4-stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK)/JNK axis in 6-month-old Tg2576 mice Time-dependent expression of total and phosphorylated levels of SEK1 (A) a progressive inactivation was detected in its kinase downstream cascade as evidenced by SAPK dephosphorylation in Tg2576 mice (6- a significant variation was also observed in OB PKA levels in 6-month-old Tg2576 Monitorization of survival kinases during the aging process in WT and Tg2576 OBs Western-blotting were performed for the kinase panel (total and phosphorylated levels) in the OB from WT and Tg2576 mice of 2 Quantitation data were referred to the observed levels in 2-month-old mice for each condition Olfactory SEK1/MKK4 and PKA are differentially activated across Braak stages in human AD Levels and residue-specific phosphorylation of SEK1/MKK4 (A) and PKA (B) in the OB across AD phenotypes Equal loading of the gels was assessed by Ponceau staining and hybridization with a GAPDH specific antibody Right panels show histograms of band densities Data are presented as mean ± SEM from five independent OB samples per group Representative Western blot gels are shown which hampers their characterization and quantitation by mass-spectrometry we report a PKA overactivation that occurs in the OB derived from AD subjects with initial stages (Braak I–II) indicating that cAMP signaling appears to be stage and brain region specific we cannot pinpoint which APP-derived species are responsible for the observed molecular disturbances this study should be complemented with behavior testing to characterize which molecular abnormalities are directly linked to the cognitive deficit as well as additional omic studies performed in different brain areas to verify the specificity of the molecular alterations detected at the level of the OB According to the Spanish Law 14/2007 of Biomedical Research inform written consent forms of Brain Bank of IDIBELL and Neurological Tissue Bank of IDIBAPS-Hospital Clinic (Barcelona Spain) was obtained for research purposes from relatives of patients included in this study The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and all assessments and procedures were previously approved by the Clinical Ethics Committee of Navarra Health Service All animal care and experimental procedures were in accordance with European and Spanish regulations (86/609/CEE; RD1201/2005) and were approved by the Ethical Committee of the University of Navarra (no JF-I and ES designed and supervised the complete study JF-I performed liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis IF and AP-M performed immunohistochemical analysis and neuropathological characterizations This work was funded by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Ministerio de Economía Department of Economic Development from Government of Navarra (Ref PI59 and PC107-108) and Obra Social la Caixa to ES AG-M and KA were supported by PEJ-2014-A-61949 and PEJ-2014-A-72151 (MINECO) ML-M and AG-M are supported by a predoctoral fellowship from the Public University of Navarra (UPNA) The Proteomics Unit of Navarrabiomed is a member of Proteored of the PE I + D + I 2013-2016 funded by ISCIII and FEDER The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest We are very grateful to the patients and relatives who generously donated the brain tissue for research purposes We are indebted to the Neurological Tissue Banks of IDIBELL and IDIBAPS-Hospital Clinic (Barcelona The Clinical Neuroproteomics group of Navarrabiomed is a member of the Spanish Network of Olfaction (ROE) This project is part of the HUPO Brain Proteome Project and these results are lined up with the Spanish Initiative on the Human Proteome Project (SpHPP) Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II; ERK Extracellular signal-regulated kinase; FAK p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase; PDK1 Phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase 1; Phb Serine/threonine-protein phosphatase 5; SAPK/JNK stress-activated protein kinase/Jun-amino terminal kinase; SEK1/MKK4 The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2019.00141/full#supplementary-material FIGURE S1 | Olfactory β-Amyloid pathology increases with the disease progression in TG2576 mice 6 (D–F) and 14 (G–J) month-old Tg2576 mice Intraneuronal Aβ immunoreactivity can be observed in 2 month-old mice (arrow heads; panel B and more detailed in panel C) OB samples from 6 month-old animals (panels D,E and F) shows moderate Aβ deposition in form of diffuse plaques (asterisk) H and insert J) and vascular Aβ (insert I) is evident in 14 month-old Tg2576 (GL: glomerular layer; EPL: external plexiform layer; MC: mitral layer; GrL: granular layer; AON: anterior olfactory nucleus) FIGURE S2 | OB PP5 up-regulation in 6-month-old Tg2576 mice (**P < 0.01 respect to control group) (A) No significant changes were found in FAK and PDK1/PKC signaling axis (B) FIGURE S3 | Visualization of predictive interactions between APP and survival kinases (orange circles) based on differential datasets derived from 2-month-old Tg2576 mice FIGURE S4 | Immunohistochemical localization of OB SEK1 and PKA (phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated forms) Representative immunohistochemical staining pattern of pSEK1 (A,B) pPKA (E,F) and PKA (G,H) in control and AD cases TABLE S1 | Differential OB transcriptome in 2- and 6-month-old Tg2576 mice respect to WT mice TABLE S2 | Diffefrential OB proteome in 2- and 6-month-old Th2576 mice respect to WT mice TABLE S3 | Functional analysis of omics datasets Nose-to-brain drug delivery: an update on clinical challenges and progress towards approval of anti-Alzheimer drugs Staging of neurofibrillary pathology in Alzheimer’s disease: a study of the BrainNet Europe Consortium Olfactory bulb involvement in neurodegenerative diseases Microglial p38α MAPK is a key regulator of proinflammatory cytokine up-regulation induced by toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands or β-amyloid (Aβ) Impact of regulatory variation from RNA to protein Staging of Alzheimer disease-associated neurofibrillary pathology using paraffin sections and immunocytochemistry A learning deficit related to age and β-amyloid plaques in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease An intranasally delivered peptide drug ameliorates cognitive decline in Alzheimer transgenic mice BDNF prevents amyloid-dependent impairment of LTP in the entorhinal cortex by attenuating p38 MAPK phosphorylation Mechanism of intranasal drug delivery directly to the brain Cuadrado-Tejedor A first-in-class small-molecule that acts as a dual inhibitor of hdac and pde5 and that rescues hippocampal synaptic impairment in Alzheimer’s disease mice Cuadrado-Tejedor Current animal models of Alzheimer’s disease: challenges in translational research Olfactory dysfunction: its early temporal relationship and neural correlates in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease Hippocampal proteomic analysis reveals distinct pathway deregulation profiles at early and late stages in a rat model of Alzheimer’s-like amyloid pathology Low levels of prohibitin in substantia nigra makes dopaminergic neurons vulnerable in Parkinson’s disease Current advances on different kinases involved in tau phosphorylation and implications in Alzheimer’s disease and tauopathies increased phosphorylation of Akt substrates and loss and altered distribution of Akt and PTEN are features of Alzheimer’s disease pathology Early locus coeruleus degeneration and olfactory dysfunctions in Tg2576 mice p38 kinase is activated in the Alzheimer’s disease brain Summaries of Affymetrix GeneChip probe level data Intracellular Aβ pathology and early cognitive impairments in a transgenic rat overexpressing human amyloid precursor protein: a multidimensional study Early-onset behavioral and synaptic deficits in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease Aβ peptide immunization reduces behavioural impairment and plaques in a model of Alzheimer’s disease Cyclic nucleotide signaling changes associated with normal aging and age-related diseases of the brain Lachén-Montes An early dysregulation of FAK and MEK/ERK signaling pathways precedes the β-amyloid deposition in the olfactory bulb of APP/PS1 mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease Lachén-Montes Olfactory bulb neuroproteomics reveals a chronological perturbation of survival routes and a disruption of prohibitin complex during Alzheimer’s disease progression Progressive modulation of the human olfactory bulb transcriptome during Alzheimer’s disease evolution: novel insights into the olfactory signaling across proteinopathies Alterations in β-amyloid production and deposition in brain regions of two transgenic models Interleukin-1 mediates pathological effects of microglia on tau phosphorylation and on synaptophysin synthesis in cortical neurons through a p38-MAPK pathway Down-regulation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase by over-activated calpain in Alzheimer disease brain On the dependency of cellular protein levels on mRNA abundance Loss of prohibitin membrane scaffolds impairs mitochondrial architecture and leads to tau hyperphosphorylation and neurodegeneration Targeting p38 MAPK pathway for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease Palomino-Alonso Network-driven proteogenomics unveils an aging-related imbalance in the olfactory IκBα-NFκB p65 complex functionality in Tg2576 Alzheimer’s disease mouse model Aberrant protein phosphorylation in Alzheimer disease brain disturbs pro-survival and cell death pathways Signal transduction cascades associated with oxidative stress in Alzheimer’s disease Active stress kinase p38 enhances and perpetuates abnormal tau phosphorylation and deposition in Pick’s disease Rodent models for Alzheimer’s disease drug discovery Gene expression profiles of transcripts in amyloid precursor protein transgenic mice: up-regulation of mitochondrial metabolism and apoptotic genes is an early cellular change in Alzheimer’s disease The olfactory bulb as the entry site for prion-like propagation in neurodegenerative diseases Akt activity in Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders Protein phosphatase 5 protects neurons against amyloid-β toxicity Sánchez-Quiles Prohibitin deficiency blocks proliferation and induces apoptosis in human hepatoma cells: molecular mechanisms and functional implications APP mouse models for Alzheimer’s disease preclinical studies Transcriptional alterations related to neuropathology and clinical manifestation of Alzheimer’s disease P38 MAP kinase is activated at early stages in Alzheimer’s disease brain The MaxQuant computational platform for mass spectrometry-based shotgun proteomics The Perseus computational platform for comprehensive analysis of (prote)omics data Vizcaíno ProteomeXchange provides globally coordinated proteomics data submission and dissemination behavioral impairments and their reversibility in an Alzheimer’s β-amyloidosis mouse model Olfactory dysfunction correlates with amyloid-β burden in an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model The relationship between Aβ and memory in the Tg2576 mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease Direct pharmacological Akt activation rescues Alzheimer’s disease like memory impairments and aberrant synaptic plasticity Progressive impairment in olfactory working memory in a mouse model of Mild Cognitive Impairment Olfactory bulb proteome dynamics during the progression of sporadic Alzheimer’s disease: identification of common and distinct olfactory targets across Alzheimer-related co-pathologies Prohibitin reduces mitochondrial free radical production and protects brain cells from different injury modalities Activation and redistribution of c-jun N-terminal kinase/stress activated protein kinase in degenerating neurons in Alzheimer’s disease Fernández-Irigoyen J and Santamaría E (2019) Early-Onset Molecular Derangements in the Olfactory Bulb of Tg2576 Mice: Novel Insights Into the Stress-Responsive Olfactory Kinase Dynamics in Alzheimer’s Disease Received: 15 November 2018; Accepted: 23 May 2019; Published: 11 June 2019 Copyright © 2019 Lachen-Montes, González-Morales, Palomino, Ausin, Gómez-Ochoa, Zelaya, Ferrer, Pérez-Mediavilla, Fernández-Irigoyen and Santamaría. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited in accordance with accepted academic practice distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms *Correspondence: Enrique Santamaría, ZXNhbnRhbW1hQG5hdmFycmEuZXM= † These authors share senior authorship Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher 94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or goodLearn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish SILIGURI: Around 1,000 tourists in Lachen and Lachung continue to be stranded due to landslides in the region since Thursday a senior district police officer said on Friday Landslides triggered by continuous rainfall since Thursday afternoon have damaged roads at many places near Munshithang on the way to Lachen from Chungthang and near Lima on the way to Lachung from Chungthang (Videograb) Mangan superintendent of police (SP) Sonam Detchu Bhutia said about 1,500 more tourists whose vehicles were stranded on the road due to the landslides were accommodated in nearby villages on Thursday night They spent the night in places such as the police station Indo-Tibetan Border Police camp and in some cases “They were taken out on Friday morning and have already left for Gangtok,” Bhutia told HT The district police chief said landslides triggered by continuous rainfall since Thursday afternoon have damaged roads at many places near Munshithang on the way to Lachen from Chungthang and near Lima on the way to Lachung from Chungthang who were in Lachen and Lachung when heavy rains started on Thursday The official added that all travel permits for north Sikkim for Friday have been cancelled The district administration has directed tour operators not to send tourists to north Sikkim under any circumstances till the situation improves Rescue operations are ongoing with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the police working together to restore road connectivity approximately 560 tourists are stuck in Lachen while around 1,200 are stranded in Lachung Telephone lines and electricity services remain operational and tourists have been advised to stay in their hotels until evacuation is possible Hotel owners in Lachen are providing free lodging and meals to the stranded visitors said that the road between Lachung and Chungthang may reopen by Saturday evening the route from Lachen to Chungthang will take longer to clear and authorities are planning to evacuate tourists from Lachen via a detour through Lachung once the road allows The district administration has cancelled all travel permits to north Sikkim and instructed tour operators not to send tourists to the region until the situation stabilises Some tourists who were stranded en route on Thursday night were given shelter in nearby villages and have since been safely moved to Gangtok which was severely affected by the October 2023 Glacial Lake Outburst Flood and had only recently reopened to tourists in March 2025 Officials continue to monitor the situation with priority given to restoring safe access and ensuring the welfare of all stranded visitors Nearly 1,500 tourists rescued and many forced to spend night in temples I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice More than 1,000 people were left stranded in the northeastern Indian state of Sikkim after landslides in the high-altitude region cut off access to several areas Incessant rainfall over the last few days in northern Sikkim triggered landslides on Thursday in Munshithang region along the popular tourist trail of Lachen-Chungthang and the Lachung area The landslides left the picturesque towns of Lachen and Lachung grappling with disrupted connectivity leaving hundreds of people stranded in the upper reaches Senior police officer Sonam Detchu Bhutia said around 1,500 tourists had been taken to safer villages to spend the night before being rescued on Friday He said the tourists were stranded along with their vehicles on roads closed by landslides, the Hindustan Times reported Many tourists remained trapped in Lachen and Lachung following heavy rains on Thursday effectively isolating the popular tourist destinations The landslides had forced the closure of the road to Chungthang at night Authorities urged tourists to stay lodged in their hotels and safer areas until the roads were cleared and the situation improved The district administration suspended all travel permits until Friday and cancelled those issued in advance Sikkim receives heavy rainfall during the June–September monsoon heavy rains stranded 1,200 tourists as well as 15 foreigners Lachen was hit hard in October 2023 after a glacial lake outburst caused a flood that killed at least 40 people and left many missing The Lhonak lake in the mountainous state burst its banks after a cloudburst. It led to the destruction of the Chungthang dam which caused severe flooding in the Teesta river Meanwhile, a night of torrential rain earlier this week triggered flash floods and landslides in the northern Jammu region’s Ramban area, cutting off the main highway connecting Jammu and Kashmir to the rest of India and leaving over 500 people stranded. At least three people died and one was missing in the disaster. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies which was cut off due to massive landslides triggered by heavy rainfall nearly 1,800 others remain stranded in the popular hill stations of Lachung and Lachen in Mangan district who had spent Thursday night in a local gurdwara located approximately 100 km from Chungthang The evacuation was made possible after a bailey bridge at Sangkalang—damaged during the landslides—was reconstructed and opened for traffic enabling movement towards the district headquarters Efforts are underway to clear the remaining blockages and evacuate the remaining 1,800 tourists from Lachung and Lachen as soon as possible Rescue and road-clearing operations are being carried out on a war footing by the administration and the Border Roads Organisation Roads to Lachen and Lachung remained closed due to mudslides caused by heavy rainfall on Thursday evening Tourists need to travel via Chungthang to reach Lachung and Lachen hill stations known for their natural beauty and proximity to popular tourist destinations like Gurudongmar Lake and Yumthang Valley The district administration has made all necessary arrangements to ensure the well-being of the tourists stranded in Lachung and Lachen Sikkim Governor Om Prakash Mathur said that all tourists are safe in various places in north Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang has been personally supervising the rescue operations of the stranded tourists the Mangan district administration has announced suspension of all tourist permits for the time being Permits already issued for travel have been declared invalid adding the tour operators have been instructed not to send any tourists northward until further notice Landslides have occurred at Munshithang on the Lachen-Chungthang road and at Lema/Bob on the Lachung-Chungthang road The situation was aggravated due to continuous rain in the region Such comments are punishable under cyber laws The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of readers and not that of Mathrubhumi a vital route connecting Lachung and Lachen in North Sikkim severely impacting transportation in the region has been criticized for delays in initiating repairs despite repeated appeals from local residents only one alternative route under the Roads and Bridges Department remains accessible but its poor condition has further restricted movement but no official timeline has been provided for repairs as the bridge is crucial for both residents and tourists The Ministry of Defense has yet to announce immediate steps to expedite restoration work The situation underscores the urgent need for swift intervention to restore connectivity and prevent further disruptions in North Sikkim © Northeast Today. 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Find out more about how we use cookies and how to manage your settings AcceptDo not accept GANGTOK- In the wake of relentless heavy rainfall North Sikkim has been severely impacted by massive landslides leaving over 1,000 tourists stranded in high-altitude regions such as Lachen The situation has prompted extensive rescue operations by the Indian Army triggered by continuous downpours since Thursday have caused significant damage to key routes including the Lachen-Chungthang and Lachung-Chungthang roads major landslides occurred at Munshithang and Lema/Bob rendering these vital connections impassable Approximately 200 tourist vehicles became immobilized in Chungthang with many occupants seeking shelter in local facilities such as a Gurudwara Also Read- Forest Fire Rages Near Dirang, Swift Response Contains Blaze rescue teams successfully evacuated around 1,500 tourists who had been stranded overnight These individuals were accommodated in nearby villages and subsequently transported to safer locations A significant development in the rescue operations was the construction of a Bailey Bridge at Sankalang by the Indian Army’s Trishakti Corps This temporary structure facilitated the movement of 222 vehicles providing a crucial lifeline for those trapped in the affected areas Also Read- Dy CM Chowna Mein Conferred Honorary Doctorate by Gauhati University approximately 1,000 tourists remain stranded in Lachen and Lachung Authorities have advised them to stay in their respective accommodations where adequate food and shelter have been arranged The India Meteorological Department has issued a red alert for Sikkim forecasting continued heavy rainfall over the next two days all travel permits to North Sikkim have been suspended and previously issued permits have been canceled to prevent further endangerment Also Read- Mentor Secretary and MLA reviews developmental activities in Lepa Rada Sikkim Governor Om Prakash Mathur confirmed that all stranded tourists are safe and that the state government is actively coordinating rescue and relief operations Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang is personally overseeing the situation to ensure the well-being of those affected Efforts are ongoing to clear debris and restore connectivity to the isolated regions Authorities are exploring alternative routes with continued vigilance required as weather conditions evolve Residents and potential travelers are urged to stay informed through official channels and adhere to safety advisories issued by local authorities travel to North Sikkim is strongly discouraged until further notice and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()) GANGTOK: The upper reaches of Sikkim experienced heavy snowfall The snowfall on Tuesday evening also led to a sharp dip in temperatures in the Himalayan state According to the official black ice has formed at Thulo Khola making the road to Nathula and Tsomgo Lake dangerous for vehicles Efforts are underway to clear the snow but it will take a day or two to ensure safe passage Also Read- Sikkim: Bailey bridge collapses with overloaded truck, none injured Permits for visiting Nathula and Tsomgo Lake will not be issued by the Tourism department until further notice Travellers are advised to stay updated on the situation and exercise caution The administration is monitoring the weather and road conditions closely Best Time For Romance In Sikkim  ( Ep-1) According to a report from the Junior Engineer of the 129th General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) making the route extremely dangerous for vehicles Efforts are underway to clear the snow and ice but authorities have stated that it will take time to ensure safe passage Staatliche Museen zu Berlin The Neue Nationalgalerie presents Barbara Kruger's first institutional solo exhibition in Berlin The American conceptual artist has developed a site-specific text installation for the Neue Nationalgalerie’s upper-level exhibition hall The work seeks to engage visitors in public discussion about political and social topics Barbara Kruger combines her own texts with quotes by three authors ‒ George Orwell James Baldwin and Walter Benjamin ‒ whose writings each address major political issues: the violence of totalitarian states the mechanisms behind societal discrimination and the dangers of biased historiography Through the stark graphic impact of her texts Kruger succeeds in introducing her own artistic language into Mies van der Rohe’s massive building Aside from the topicality of the texts and their subject matter the invitation extended to Barbara Kruger to develop this work also pays homage to her outstanding artistic contributions whose feminist and political approaches have strongly influenced the art of the late 20th and early 21st centuries At the centre is a sentence borrowed from Orwell’s book 1984: imagine a boot stamping on a human face ‒ forever This nightmarish vision of a totalitarian state originated from Orwell The statement was intended as a reckoning and reflection on the National Socialist dictatorship in Germany Orwell issued a universal and timeless warning to society to question and critisise any form of state violence and control Barbara Kruger also recalls the universal dangers that can arise at any time from repressive structures and nations this warning about violence brought about by a totalitarian state seems all the more prescient The literary quotes are accompanied by short texts written by the artist that have been adopted from social media news They address visitors directly and refer to the discrepancies between self-perception and self-alienation In contrast to Mies van der Rohe’s classical and austere architecture Kruger employs her own distinctive aesthetic while fundamentally questioning the consumer-oriented uncritical ways of life that characterise many of today’s societies Barbara Kruger (b. 1945) has been known since the 1970s for her large-scale graphic works featuring sharply worded statements or short texts which she uses to examine and interrogate common social stereotypes from a feminist and consumerism-critical perspective She addresses how images and ideas are circulated and perceived today The exhibition is curated by Joachim Jäger A special exhibition of the Nationalgalerie – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin The Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Joins the Long Night of Museums on 27 August 2022 Get Away to the (Museum) Island! A Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Summer Programme Beginning on 7 July 2022 Sundowner Bar on the Terrace at the Neue Nationalgalerie: Every Friday and Saturday Evening from 6 pm to 10 pm, Starting Friday, 24 June 2022 U-Bahn: Potsdamer Platz S-Bahn: Potsdamer Platz Bus: Potsdamer Brücke Sun 10:00 - 18:00Mon closedTue 10:00 - 18:00Wed 10:00 - 18:00Thu 10:00 - 20:00Fri 10:00 - 18:00Sat 10:00 - 18:00 Special opening hours during public holidays Tel 030 - 266 42 42 42 (Mon - Fri, 9 am - 4 pm)Questions | Bookings | Feedback Sikkim Weather: The landslides have affected key routes connecting tourist destinations like Lachen areas popular among visitors during the spring and summer seasons Rescue efforts and coordination are underway but the situation remains tense as rain continues to lash the region Sikkim Weather: Heavy rain caused a massive landslide in the Munshithang area on the Lachen-Chungthang road and also at Lema/Bob on the same route in North Sikkim While the route leading to Chungthang remains open authorities have warned against travelling due to the heightened risk caused by slippery and unstable terrain Authorities have put a temporary halt on the issuance of fresh permits for North Sikkim all advanced permits that had been issued earlier now stand cancelled with immediate effect Police officials have also confirmed that approximately 1,000 tourists have been left stranded in the affected areas as a result of the landslides Around 200 tourist vehicles were stranded at Chungthang and the occupants are staying in a Gurudwara there Chungthang is nearly 100 km from the state capital Gangtok The authorities have instructed all tour operators not to send tourists to North Sikkim on Friday and until further notice READ MORE: Pune Metro Expansion: Work Begins On PCMC To Bhakti-Shakti Route; To Connect Areas Across Pimpri-Chinchwad; Check Stations announced the cancellation of permits due to the challenging weather conditions and roadblocks caused by the landslide "A massive landslide has occurred at Munshithang on the Lachen Chungthang road and Lema/Bob on the Lachung Chungthang road it has been raining continuously in North Sikkim permits for North Sikkim will not be issued tomorrow and all the advanced permits issued are deemed cancelled," said Bhutia READ MORE: Bengaluru Weather: City To See Rain, Thunderstorms; Showers In THESE Karnataka Districts Till April 27 | Forecast The landslides have affected key routes connecting tourist destinations like Lachen Local authorities have urged visitors and residents to stay alert and avoid unnecessary travel until conditions improve Jagran English brings you all the latest and breaking news from India and around the world Follow english.jagran.com to stay updated with the latest English news MANGAN ( North Sikkim ) – As the winter season commenced the high footfall of tourists in North Sikkim with arrival of 2000 tourists in a single day on Sunday North Sikkim has reached a new milestone in tourism with a total of 1,989 visitors arriving in the region on Sunday setting a record for the area despite the harsh weather conditions 1,776 were domestic tourists who obtained online permits The region also welcomed 21 international tourists This surge in tourist numbers highlights North Sikkim’s increasing popularity and solidifies its status as a prime tourism destination in the Eastern Himalayas Also Read- Thinsa, a beautiful village nestled on a hill slope in Tirap, Arunachal Pradesh  known for frequent snowfalls during the winter is a favourite destination for domestic and international tourists After the glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) in Sikkim in October last year the sole district located in the north of Sikkim Roads and bridges were washed away in the GLOF  Apart from the GLOF in October last year recurring landslides during the monsoon worsened the situation and led to the prolonged closure of destinations like Lachen roads and bridges were built and repaired to restore connectivity and popular destinations like Lachen and Lachung were reopened for tourists on December 1 You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience areas popular among visitors during the spring and summer seasons.Authorities have cautioned tourists and residents against attempting to travel on these routes due to the high risk of further landslides and road collapse IMD predicts heavy rainfall at isolated places over Odisha between April 29 and May 1 Sikkim: SP Mangan issues new timing for vehicular movement of tourists from April 30 in wake of incessant rainfall Mumbai police identifies 17 Pakistani nationals Over 200 stranded vehicles evacuated safely after sudden snowfall in East Sikkim Sikkim CM leads candle march for Pahalgam victims Sikkim Krantikari Morcha organise 'Shradhanjali Sabha' in Gangtok Sikkim Chief Minister holds productive meeting with Union Power Minister copyrights © aninews.in | All rights Reserved This unprecedented snowfall disrupted socio-economic activities and posed a challenge to all road users "Order must be followed immediately": Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve after SC directs Maharashtra EC to notify local body polls Gwalior driver's daughter tops commerce stream in MP Board exams Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai reviews progress of Samadhan camps BJP protests outside Kejriwal residence; accuses Punjab AAP govt of stopping Delhi's water DRI seizes leopard skins and ivory in Ujjain Indian Consulate assists nationals facing death penalty in Indonesia Noida: Woman jumps to death in front of metro train at Golf Course Station 2024 9:51 PM9 min readUkrainian influencer Ihor Lachenkov poses for a portrait after an interview with The Kyiv Independent in Sens bookstore on March 29 by Daria ShulzhenkoTo see some of the horrors Russia’s war has brought to Ukraine one just has to click on the #RussiaIsATerroristState hashtag on social media Given the scale of Russia’s ongoing attacks which have left entire cities blacked out and destroyed the hashtag is used daily by hundreds of people But not many know that the person who launched the viral campaign promoting the hashtag back in 2022 was Ukrainian social media influencer Ihor Lachenkov He began to gain followers on the eve of the full-scale war when he founded the Lachen Pyshe ("Lachen (short for Lachenkov) is typing") Telegram channel (@lachentyt) to share the latest developments – often accompanying the news with his own comments More than two years into the full-scale invasion has become more than just a social media influencer Apart from running one of Ukraine’s most popular Telegram channels Lachenkov has raised millions of dollars for Ukrainian soldiers and directed the glare of publicity to crucial issues such as corruption in the Defense Ministry Ukrainian influencer Ihor Lachenkov poses for a portrait after an interview with The Kyiv Independent in Sens bookstore on March 29 (Oleh Tymoshenko / The Kyiv Independent)Becoming famousEveryone seems to know who Lachenkov is when he walks into a bookstore in downtown Kyiv these days but few would have recognized him before the full-scale war A native of the central-eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, he studied law at the local university and earned a living by creating "turnkey" Telegram channels, as well as running social media accounts about his hometown He often posted memes and news about Ukraine on his personal Instagram account and had gained nearly 50,000 followers there by 2022 Lachenkov first experienced the effects of war when he spent summer holidays at his grandparents’ home in Lysychansk, Luhansk Oblast, which was occupied by Russia for three months in 2014 The city again came under Russian military occupation in July 2022 during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine "I've been following the events closely since 2013, including the Revolution of Dignity and the war in the Donbas," Lachenkov told the Kyiv Independent "But my problem was that I believed that Russian liberals, the Russian opposition, and people who were against the annexation of Crimea and Putin were good Russians." the start of Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine) I realized this was far from the truth." With the threat of a full-scale Russian invasion looming over Ukraine in late 2021 and early 2022 Lachenkov decided to create a Telegram channel to share the latest news with his own comments He named it “Lachen Pyshe (Lachen is typing).” "When someone writes to you in a Telegram chat it displays 'is typing' at the top," Lachenkov explains the name adding he thought that only people from his circle would follow the channel it gained 6,000 followers on its first day he had 70,000 readers – nearly 20,000 more than his personal Instagram account as Russia began heavily bombarding cities across Ukraine Lachen Pyshe’s audience skyrocketed to over 200,000 Lachenkov himself was in Dnipro when the full-scale war began monitoring and posting news around the clock Although he had never chased popularity in Ukraine having many friends in the military and deeply caring for his country made him realize he had no choice but to accept his new-found fame and continue working harder than ever A collage of the Telegram messages from the “Lachen Pyshe (Lachen is typing)” channel and a photo of its founder and face posing for a portrait after an interview with The Kyiv Independent in Sens bookstore on March 29 The messages alert the followers of the route of the Russian missiles during an air raid siren (Oleh Tymoshenko / The Kyiv Independent)A voice as a weaponLachenkov runs the channel with two friends who remain anonymous He said he understands the high level of responsibility for using the power of Telegram – a messenger created by Russian-born entrepreneur Pavel Durov – to help Ukraine Lachenkov, however, says Telegram is a great tool in fighting Russian propaganda – when used wisely he helped ban a Russian FSB-linked Telegram propaganda channel in Ukraine: "There have now been lots of small cases like that," Lachenkov said A collage of the “Lachen Pyshe (Lachen is typing)” channel and the messages from the channel (Illustration: The Kyiv Independent)"So much can be accomplished through Telegram and it’s a tool to be utilized rather than restricted." Lachenkov uses his powerful social media voice not only to fight Russian propaganda but to draw public attention to other important matters in Ukraine, like battling corruption: In early January, he issued an emotional statement regarding a recent procurement scandal involving Defense Ministry contractor and Lviv businessman Ihor Hrynkevych Hrynkevych is one of five suspects, including his son Roman, who allegedly supplied Ukraine's Defense Ministry with low-quality military clothing causing the ministry Hr 1.2 billion ($31 million) in losses "It’s an incredible level of nastiness," Lachenkov wrote on social media about the case calling on law enforcement to find Roman after he had been declared wanted His aim was not to let society and authorities forget about the scandal Lachenkov said the Hrynkevych family even contacted him attempting to "bury" the story: "They wanted to pay me to forget about them," the influencer said I published another post." "I wanted it to be an example I wanted to make the Hrynkevych case into a precedent and societal buzz around a particular case can resolve the issues." The investigation into the large-scale defense procurement corruption scheme is ongoing, with a Kyiv court recently extending the detention of Roman until April 17 If the terror of the Russian Federation remains unpunished, you will see its repetition all over the world - President Zelenskyi#RussiaIsATerroristState pic.twitter.com/2qABr6PaBC "We launched this hashtag on Twitter," Lachenkov said "We had a designer who made black posters on which 'Russia is a terrorist state' was written in red letters but a lot of people don't even know where it comes from." However, others had indeed noticed, and Lachenkov was among a group of Ukrainians invited to the European Parliament when it awarded the Sakharov Prize to the Ukrainian people in December 2022 He says he initially didn’t understand why he’d been invited "But I understood it when I met with a member of the European Parliament who had lobbied for them to recognize Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism,” he said to talk about declaring Russia a state sponsor of terrorism Lachenkov said he believes he attracts social media followers because of his active stance and independence He says he has "no political ambitions." And despite now having a large audience and recognition always trying to shift the focus from himself to what is important to him – Ukraine Ukrainian influencer Ihor Lachenkov posing for a portrait after an interview with The Kyiv Independent in Sens bookstore on March 29 The messages alert the audience of the route of the Russian missiles during an air raid siren (Oleh Tymoshenko / The Kyiv Independent)No time to stop Much of that help goes to the Ukrainian military Lachenkov had friends in the military even before the full-scale war "Many of my friends continue to fight," he said "The thought that you don’t know what will happen (to them) tomorrow affects (me) a lot." His first fundraising campaign was launched five days before the full-scale war, when he quickly raised Hr 80,000 ($2,000) for his friends in the military. As of the beginning of 2024, Lachenkov has helped raise over Hr 2 billion ($51 million) through his channel to support Ukrainian soldiers. While he has teamed up with Ukrainian foundations and activists supporting the army many times, one fundraiser in particular stands out. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ihor Lachenkov (@lachen_tyt) In November 2022, Lachenkov joined forces with Come Back Alive, Ukraine's biggest civilian fundraising trust for purchasing military items to raise Hr 230 million ($5.8 million) for undisclosed equipment that would "reduce Russia's offensive capabilities." The equipment was requested by Ukraine’s military intelligence It took them around a month to close the fundraiser A year later, the military finally revealed what the mysterious equipment actually was the Ukrainian-made Beaver attack drone in one attack the drone hit a Russian plant producing electronics for Russian X-type missiles the drones caused over $900 million worth of damage to Russia in the first eight months of 2023 To extend support to the military beyond material assistance, Lachenkov recently launched a YouTube channel featuring interviews with soldiers He also plans soon to help a friend create a memorial for fallen Ukrainian servicemen Ukrainian influencer Ihor Lachenkov poses for a portrait after an interview with The Kyiv Independent in Sens bookstore on March 29, 2024, in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Oleh Tymoshenko / The Kyiv Independent)Lachenkov said he would "breathe a sigh of relief" when Ukraine finally receives the aid package from the U.S. which has been delayed since the fall of 2023 amid political fighting in Congress "I will understand that at least we have military aid and this is very important for us," he said "Nothing separates you from those already killed by Russia You have no guarantees that tomorrow Russia won't kill you as they have already killed hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians "It’s now at the stage of either we kill them Daria Shulzhenko is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent. She has been a lifestyle reporter at the Kyiv Post until November 2021. She graduated from Kyiv International University with a bachelor’s in linguistics, specializing in translation from English and German languages. She has previously worked as a freelance writer and researcher. CommentsVehicles stuck in mud and silt following landslides triggered by incessant rainfall, in North Sikkim. The surging water in the Teesta river has marooned the low-lying areas in Sikkim. Section of a road damaged due to landslides triggered by incessant rainfall, at Mangan in North Sikkim. Houses collapsed due to a landslide triggered by incessant rainfall, at Mangan in North Sikkim. A section of a road collapsed due to a landslide triggered by incessant rainfall, at Mangan in North Sikkim. the region remains relatively underexplored here are the best places to visit in North Sikkim Get 10% Off Experiences exclusively on Condé Nast Traveller India with code “10CNT” Emad aljumah/ Getty ImagesLachen is a quaint Himalayan village in the northern district of Sikkim with unparalleled scenic beauty Chopta Valley—termed as “Nature’s bounty” owing to its forests teeming with rhododendron oak and deodar trees—features scenic hiking trails and the opportunity to spot birds like the northern raven and red-throated thrush Opt for a guided tour that starts with a morning drive to Lachen the next day of the excursion will take you to the Gurudongmar Lake Avijit Baitalik/ Getty ImagesLying amidst snow-capped mountains Gurudongmar Lake is one of the highest lakes in the country blue sheep and other wildlife found at high altitudes small parts of the lake remain unfrozen and if you’re lucky you might spot golden ducks swimming across against the backdrop of the snowy mountains The best times to visit the lake are between March and June and October and November—the lake remains inaccessible for the rest of the year because of heavy snowfall and consequent road blockages Puneet Vikram Singh/ Getty ImagesServing as a base for various adventurous and cultural activities Lachung is another beautiful town in Sikkim The road to Yumesamdong valley or Zero Point in Lachung is an exhilarating drive that offers panoramic views of the pristine beauty of the majestic Himalayas grab your caps and gloves and get ready to make snowmen and snow angels at Zero Point which is blanketed in snow during this time Arijeet Bannerjee/ Getty ImagesPopularly known as the “Valley of Flowers'' Yumthang Valley is a wonderland for all those who love the outdoors and nature lush green woods and the mighty River Teesta flowing through it this valley is a scenic beauty during the spring season from mid-February to mid-May when flowers like primulas the beautiful rhododendrons in the nature park of Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary are in full bloom from April to June Getty ImagesVivek Renukaprasad/ Getty ImagesThe tour ends in the capital city of Gangtok where an evening stroll through the famous MG Marg is the perfect experience for your last day This marketplace stretches for about 2km and is the hub of Gangtok’s food scene Shop for souvenirs and grab a plate of steaming hot momo and thukpa The beautiful and exhilarating trip concludes at the drop location- Bagdogra Airport All products are independently selected by our editors. 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Please read our republishing guidelines to get started Lachen village in North Sikkim [All images by Shailendra Yashwant] “Mosquitos and tourists!” Chokdup Lachenpa shouts at no one in particular as he takes a long sip of Tongba (hot beer) from his bamboo mug “The first is because of climate change and the second is the cause of climate change,” causing much mirth and laughter among the customers We are sitting at Chokdup’s daughter’s tiny teashop-cum-bar in Lachen a small village perched 2,750 metres above the mean sea level (MSL) on the right bank of the Lachen Chu river in North Sikkim we can see the headlights of a cavalcade of vans and jeeps that will soon bring hundreds of tourists to Lachen for a night’s halt surrounded by snow-capped peaks and forests of rhododendrons and conifers Lachen is so beautiful it has been declared a “heritage village” by the Sikkim government The tag is accompanied by “eco-tourism homestays” pushed strongly by bureaucrats It is the last stop for tourists going to Gurudongmar Lake Buddhists and Sikhs consider the lake sacred tourists from Maharashtra and Gujarat seem to be competing with the peripatetic Bengalis to make Lachen the number one tourist attraction in North Sikkim What most of the tourists won’t know is that Lachen valley is facing a massive climate crisis an indigenous tribe of the Bhutia community – are a worried lot unseasonal rains and the forest fires of last summer have made them all very anxious To make matters worse and potentially dangerous Lachen is in the path of the streams flowing down from the growing Lake Shako Cho The lake at the snout of the glacier by the same name is growing because the glacier is melting faster It is identified to be at high risk of causing a glacial lake outburst flood a type of flood that occurs when the gravel holding in such a lake collapses According to an independent risk assessment modelling by a group of scientists led by R “The natural gravel embankment holding the Shako Cho Lake inside could burst at any time a village of about 100 homes immediately below the lake The ensuing flood could also demolish houses here in Lachen especially those near to the unstable bluffs of the lake-fed river that runs just east of the village.” raising a question about the sustainability of the tourism industry “Lachen was the first village to ban plastic water bottles in India we have no industry that emits carbon dioxide nothing compared to the people from the cities,” Hishey Lachenpa states as she serves me another glass of hot tea Hishey is 18 years old and studies in class 12 in a public school near Gangtok She is back home during the summer vacation to help her mother who has converted a tiny 12 x 12 feet toehold into her home Hishey’s father is a monk and rarely visits them Normally we have snowfall from December to February This year we had snow only in December and then a little in January It will surely affect the potato farmers in Thangu.” Hishey A flash of lightning heralds the long threatened storm Two men walk into the teashop with the news that a landslide has blocked the road to Gurudongmar lake and the Indian Army can do nothing about it until the next day So there is no need to wake up and leave at 3 the next morning Gatuk Lachenpa’s house is the oldest in town earth and lime structure that withstood the September 18 But almost 70% of such old houses in Lachen have now been torn down to make way for gaudily painted but will help maximise the benefits of tourism maize and buck wheat for their staple and potatoes But due to erratic weather and fear of water scarcity in the future most of them are increasingly abandoning their farms to profit from the booming tourism business,” says Gatuk a farmer who has just built a 50-room hotel right next to his ancestral home in the middle of the village “Peak tourist seasons are March through May and September through November.  Seventy percent of tourists passing through Lachen are Indians They typically stay 1–2 nights in Lachen before heading off to Gurudongmar Lake We have to make the most of it till it lasts we have to minimize its negative impacts.”  Gatuk says Measures like banning plastic drinking water bottles and segregated garbage management and replanting of trees are seen as steps towards minimising the negative impacts of tourism But Lachenpas do not know how to cope with climate change impacts and least of all about what to do if the lake overhead bursts its banks Sikkim’s chief minister Pawan Chamling had once famously said “Sikkim is a mini-theatre which in a way displays how climate change triggered by non-natural forces at the global level could bring disastrous natural calamities.” Lachen clearly is the main stage where all the catastrophic scenarios predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are being played out every day We used to get about 10 feet of snow but last few years we have only received 2 feet The barren patches on the Angden Lama peak where our water comes from is a constant reminder of how climate change will change everything for us in the near future.” says Palzar Lachenpa the traditionally elected head of the local government “We have only just recovered from the devastation caused by the 6.9 magnitude earthquake of September 2011 Many have added extra rooms to accommodate more tourists We will never be able to recover from another disaster We know we are sitting right under its nose but what can we do?” Gatuk says worriedly about Shako Cho Lake tourism pressures and the clear and present threat of a lake that can burst its banks – Lachen is in grip of a climate calamity but this finds no mention in the Sikkim’s State Action Plan on Climate Change “We are doing more than our fair share to reduce carbon emissions but we need more information on adaptation to climate change we have very little understanding of what is happening we need early warnings systems and we need better predictions to help me and the Dzumsa to better prepare our people for what is to come,” says the Pipon Select from our bespoke newsletters for news best suited to you We’ve sent you an email with a confirmation link 我们向您的邮箱发送了一封确认邮件，请点击邮件中的确认链接。如果您未收到该邮件，请查看垃圾邮件。 If you would like more information about the terms of our republication policy or permission to use content, please write to us: [email protected] We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. 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Read Google's privacy policy and terms of service This website uses the following additional cookies: execute and analyze marketing programs with greater ease and efficiency while enabling publishers to maximize their returns from online advertising Note that you may see cookies placed by Google for advertising under the Google.com or DoubleClick.net domains Twitter - Twitter is a real-time information network that connects you to the latest stories opinions and news about what you find interesting Simply find the accounts you find compelling and follow the conversations Linkedin - LinkedIn is a business- and employment-oriented social networking service that operates via websites and mobile apps Help us continue to bring “the science of a meaningful life” to you and to millions around the globe a friend sent me a YouTube video called “Captain Kirk Reacts to Miley Cyrus.” I happened to watch it right after a very difficult conversation with my son that had ended with raised voices and bad feelings The video made me laugh so hard I was crying and the tension between us seemed to melt away it seems; “Laughter is the best medicine,” the saying goes why do we find some things funny—like Captain Kirk cringing over Cyrus’ performance—while others leave us flat laughter and humor help us process conflict in our environment through the dopamine that is released in our brains when we find something funny Dopamine relieves tension—which I discovered with my son—but it’s also implicated in motivation affecting processes as varied as learning and pain management It may seem impossible to study humor; but scientists have found ways mostly through large surveys and fMRI research a German researcher named Willibald Ruch asked subjects a series of questions about hundreds of jokes and cartoons he grouped humor preferences into three types: “incongruity-resolution,” which involves “violating one’s expectations in novel ways;” “nonsense humor,” “which is funny only because it makes no sense;” and “sexual humor,” which is offensive or taboo Although not everyone finds the same type of humor funny the common thread in these joke types is that they all involve dealing with surprise and resolving the ensuing cognitive dissonance “What elicits laughter isn’t the content of the joke but the way our brain works through the conflict the joke elicits,” writes Weems Take for example an old Groucho Marx joke: “One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas I don’t know.” Our brains will read the first sentence and be taken down a path imagining Grouch Marx on a safari in his pajamas before we get the new image of the elephant actually inside his pajamas That process of moving from one possible solution to the next involves a part of the brain called the anterior cingulate which becomes more active when there are conflicting interpretations in the brain The AC helps to quiet down the “louder” parts of the brain (associated with the expected response) to allow other quieter answers to emerge It helps us to figure out the novel solution gets incorporated into the brain and gives us that spike of dopamine This is why we feel so good when we get a joke and why jokes are not funny the second time around It may seem a bit sad to see humor broken down into its cognitive elements like this; but it’s also fascinating We learn about why certain groups of people find certain types of humor funnier than others We also can appreciate the similarities between getting a joke and having a stroke of insight—the same cognitive processes go into effect when solving problems as when solving jokes with the same pleasure evoked through dopamine Humor is an important part of our evolution, claims Weems—and other animals, such as rats If one tickles a rat by scratching its belly it emits high-pitched laughter (normally outside of the human hearing range) Experiments on humans have found that laughter can increase blood flow and strengthen the heart Laughter also helps decrease one’s threshold for pain although not all humor is the same in this respect positive humor—humor that looks for the bright side of troubling situations—is beneficial to our health humor is also great for our social relationships People list having a sense of humor as one of the most important traits in a mate a humorous teacher makes learning more enjoyable and increases a student’s motivation to learn In one study at San Diego State University students enrolled in an Introductory Psychology course were taught using three kinds of lectures: one that incorporated course content-related humor; one that included humor but not related to the course material; and one that used no humor at all When researchers tested student’s retention of knowledge six weeks later they found that those who attended lectures with course-related humor scored significantly higher than the other students Weems suggests incorporating it more in our lives He suggests going so far as to laugh the next time you hear a joke but others will likely laugh along with you,” he writes is Greater Good’s former book review editor and now serves as a staff writer and contributing editor for the magazine She received her doctorate of psychology from the University of San Francisco in 1998 and was a psychologist in private practice before coming to Greater Good let nature be your classroom with daily tips from Greater Good Science Center The three systems of the brain involved in forgiveness can improve our well-being in other areas of life A new report explores which Americans feel most driven to get outside of their racial Parents can model and help children practice admitting what they don't know and owning mistakes The Greater Good Science Center studies the psychology